Tom R. Tyler

Macklin Fleming Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology and Founding Director of The Justice Collaboratory

Tom R. Tyler is the Macklin Fleming Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology at Yale Law School, as well as a Founding Director of The Justice Collaboratory. He is also a professor (by courtesy) at the Yale School of Management. Professor Tyler's research explores the role of justice in shaping people's relationships with groups, organizations, communities, and societies.

Courses Taught

Tom R. Tyler is the Macklin Fleming Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology at Yale Law School, as well as a Founding Director of The Justice Collaboratory. He is also a professor (by courtesy) at the Yale School of Management. He joined the Yale Law faculty in January 2012 as a professor of law and psychology. He was previously a University Professor at New York University, where he taught in both the psychology department and the law school. Prior to joining NYU in 1997, he taught at the University of California, Berkeley, and at Northwestern University.

Professor Tyler’s research explores the role of justice in shaping people’s relationships with groups, organizations, communities, and societies. In particular, he examines the role of judgments about the justice or injustice of group procedures in shaping legitimacy, compliance, and cooperation. He is the author of several books, including Why People Cooperate (2011); Legitimacy and Criminal Justice (2007); Why People Obey the Law (2006); Trust in the Law (2002); and Cooperation in Groups (2000). He was awarded the Harry Kalven prize for “paradigm shifting scholarship in the study of law and society” by the Law and Society Association in 2000, and in 2012, was honored by the International Society for Justice Research with its Lifetime Achievement Award for innovative research on social justice.

He holds a B.A. in psychology from Columbia and an M.A. and Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Walton Hale Hamilton Professor of Law Tracey Meares and Macklin Fleming Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Tom Tyler are mentioned in a book review of “Policing the Black Man: Arrest, Prosecution, and Imprisonment” in which they have an essay.

The Justice Collaboratory will join with Shared_Studios and artist Amar Bakshi ’15 to bring Portals, a Global Public Art Initiative, to Newark, New Jersey, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin beginning on April 18 to address issues within the United States criminal justice system.

Walton Hale Hamilton Professor of Law Tracey Meares, Macklin Fleming Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Tom Tyler and Justice Collaboratory Program Director Megan Quattlebaum are academic partners to Project Longevity, a multi-city initiative to curb urban violence, and a study co-authored by adjunct professor Andrew Pappachristos is cited in the article.

Walton Hale Hamilton Professor of Law Tracey Meares and Macklin Fleming Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Tom Tyler are quoted in an article about lectures they gave at the University of Chicago Law School.

Walton Hale Hamilton Professor of Law Tracey Meares and Macklin Fleming Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Tom Tyler are quoted in an article about procedural justice. Cory Booker ’97 is mentioned.

The Justice Collaboratory at Yale held its first conference on April 16 & 17 on Policing Post-Ferguson. Vanita Gupta, Acting Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, delivered the keynote address.

Macklin Fleming Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology Tom Tyler is quoted, and The Justice Collaboratory mentioned, in an article about initiatives aimed at improving the relationships between police forces and the communities they serve.

A new study co-authored by Professor Tom Tyler shows that where people look when watching video evidence varies wildly and has has profound consequences for bias in legal punishment decisions. The study was a collaboration between New York University researchers and Tyler.

U.S. Department of Justice launches the National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice, which will be funded through a $4.75 million collaborative agreement. The initiative brings together a team of experts, including Yale Law School Professors Tracey Meares and Tom Tyler.

Leading corporate lawyers, members of the business and investment communities, public officials, and scholars will gather at Yale Law School on Friday, March 7 for the 15th annual Weil, Gotshal and Manges Rountable.

Yale Law School Professors Tracey Meares and Tom Tyler are working at the forefront of two issues faced by police across the country: reducing gun violence and improving the legitimacy of law enforcement. Both Meares and Tyler are leading the way in using research and cutting-edge theory in law and social science to create strategies to promote crime reduction, procedural justice, and legitimacy of law.